FIDE Maps the New Cycle

After four consecutive posts on the World Championship in the 19th century, let's return to the 21st century, last seen in 2018 FIDE Congress : Whither the World Championship? (January 2019). After the 89th Congress, FIDE went quiet for a few months as the new management deliberated on the future of the organization. Since the beginning of 2019, they have issued a flurry of announcements about upcoming events. Let's start with the master plan for the current cycle, which is just starting.

• 2019-02-18: Road to Candidates • 'Qualification system for the 2020 FIDE Candidates Tournament'
  
  A. 1 place – 2018 FIDE World Championship Match, Runner up
  B. 2 places – 2019 FIDE World Cup
  C. 1 place – 2019 FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament
  D. 2 places – 2019 FIDE Grand Prix Series
  E. 1 place – Highest Average FIDE Rating (Feb. 2019—Jan. 2020)
  F. 1 place – Player nominated by the Organizer

That makes eight places in the Candidates tournament and three qualifying events, one of which is brand new:-

• 2019-01-10: Additional qualification path to Candidates 2020 - FIDE Grand Swiss
• 2019-02-16: Isle of Man to host the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament • 'The Grand Swiss will take place on the Isle of Man from October 7, 2019 to October 21, 2019 in cooperation with Chess.com.'
• 2019-02-19: FIDE Grand Swiss update

The Grand Prix received a complete makeover:-

• 2019-01-21: 2019 Grand Prix Series • 'FIDE is pleased to announce the 2019 Grand Prix Series, the qualifier for the 2020 Candidates Tournament. It will be held in cooperation with World Chess in a new format aimed at improving its appeal for spectators and players alike. Each of the top 20 players qualified by rating will take part in 3 out of 4 knock-out tournaments. Each Grand Prix leg will feature 16 participants, including one wild card nominee by the organizers for each event (there will be 4 wild cards, one for each Grand Prix).'
• 2019-01-25: 2019 Grand Prix Series: Dates and Qualifiers
• 2019-02-07: 2019 Grand Prix: Where Chess Meets Start-up Nations
• 2019-02-19: FIDE announces the line-up for the FIDE World Chess Grand Prix Series 2019

For the corresponding World Chess announcement, see Guide to the 2019 Grand Prix Series (worldchess.com). The World Cup continues in the same format that we've seen since 2005:-

• 2019-02-05: FIDE and Ugra Chess Federation signed an agreement on World Cup 2019 • 'World Cup 2019 in Khanty-Mansiysk from September 9 to October 4'

The FIDE Calendar (fide.com), currently shows the following World Championship events. I include the 2020 Olympiad as a reminder that most other 2020 events are not yet listed.

I also set up place holders for the current cycle on my The World Chess Championship index page. When was the last time we had three qualifying events for the Candidates tournament?